How Much Storage Does a FiveM Server Need?
Unlike CPU and RAM, storage is fairly easy to estimate. The main contributors are well known, they don't change much over time, and you can estimate them one by one without much guesswork. This guide should help you choose the right hosting plan without paying for storage you'll never use—or running out of space a few weeks after launch.
What Actually Uses Disk Space
The base system (Alpine or your container OS): usually only a few hundred megabytes, typically less than 500 MB. It's negligible and generally not worth including in your calculations.
FiveM artifacts (FXServer builds): around 200 to 400 MB depending on the version. Every update installs a new build, and if you never clean up old versions, they can slowly waste disk space.
The server cache (cache/, generated by FXServer): its size depends directly on your resources, especially streamed
assets such as clothing packs, textures, and sounds. The more streamed content you have, the larger the cache becomes.
As a rule of thumb, expect it to use around 15–50% of the size of your resources folder. The good news is that you can
safely clear it if you need to recover disk space.
Resources (frameworks and scripts): by far the largest and most variable category.
- A basic ESX or QBCore framework: roughly 200–500 MB.
- Each additional script (inventory, phone, MDT, garages, housing, etc.): typically 10–100 MB depending on complexity. Some scripts containing many images or sounds can be even larger.
- A complete RP server with dozens of scripts can easily use between 3 and 10 GB.
Custom assets (maps, MLOs, vehicles, peds, textures): this is where storage estimates are often the most inaccurate.
- A small custom map: a few hundred megabytes.
- A detailed MLO: roughly 50–300 MB per interior depending on texture quality.
- A custom vehicle pack (30–50 vehicles): typically 1–3 GB.
- A well-equipped server with multiple MLOs, large vehicle packs, and ped packs can easily dedicate 5–15 GB to custom assets alone.
Logs (txAdmin, server logs, locally stored Discord logs): usually small if cleaned regularly, but they can grow quickly on active servers. Setting up log rotation is highly recommended.
At ElypseCloud, your database runs on separate infrastructure and does not share the same storage as your game server. That means inventories, transaction logs, and player data don't need to be included when estimating your server's storage requirements.
Backups are also stored separately from your server's disk. Our backup service costs €2 per backup, so you don't need to reserve extra storage space in your hosting plan for them.
Recommended Storage by Server Profile
| Server Profile | Recommended Storage |
|---|---|
| Small server with minimal customization and a basic framework | 5–15 GB |
| Standard RP server with around 30 scripts and some light custom content | 15–30 GB |
| Large RP server with many custom scripts, MLOs, vehicles, and additional frameworks | 30–80 GB |
| High-end server with extensive custom assets, multiple maps, and large vehicle and ped packs | 100 GB or more |
Add around 30–50% to your initial estimate. Active servers constantly grow with new scripts, vehicles, seasonal events, and additional content. Running out of disk space can prevent your server from starting properly or saving data correctly.
Many server owners only count gameplay scripts and completely forget about MLOs and vehicle packs. In reality, these are often the largest files on the server, so make sure they're included in your estimate.
Summary
It's better to leave some extra room than to size your storage too tightly. If your project grows faster than expected, you can always increase your storage with ElypseCloud without rebuilding your server.
Whether you're starting a small community or building a large server packed with custom content, ElypseCloud offers FiveM hosting plans for every project size. Take a look at our plans to find the one that fits your needs.
Join our Discord. We'll help you estimate your storage requirements before you order.